We are beginning the first stage of preparing a new City of York Local Plan following our notice in July. We want to make sure communities and stakeholders understand how they can be involved.
The consultation will run from 28 September until 11.59pm on 8 November 2026.
What the consultation is about
This Scoping consultation asks for your views on:
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What the new Local Plan should cover and how York could change and grow
The Plan will set York’s long-term strategy for homes, jobs, transport, the environment, heritage, climate action and community facilities over a 15-year period. It must reflect new national requirements, including higher housing targets, updated Green Belt rules, strengthened climate and environmental policies, and alignment with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Spatial Development Strategy.
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What evidence can help us better understand York and its communities
The consultation summarises key evidence around housing need, affordability, spatial strategy options, climate resilience, transport challenges, economic growth, heritage protection and the needs of different communities. It also highlights the council’s wider commitments through One City for All and York 2032.
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How we should engage with you
The Scoping stage helps identify the right communities, groups and partners to involve throughout plan-making. We want to provide opportunities and make it as simple as possible for everyone to become involved in the planning process, regardless of their circumstances.
We have prepared a Local Plan Engagement Strategy, Scoping Consultation Strategy for this consultation and Equalities Impact Assessment, which set out our proposed approach to engagement in the Local Plan. We would welcome your views on their content through the consultation.
Any engagement with us will be processed in accordance with our Strategic Planning Policy Privacy Notice.
Your feedback now will shape the evidence we gather, the issues we prioritise and the direction of the new Local Plan.
We have also prepared an Easy Read summary and a formal Notice of Scoping Consultation about the process.
Call for Sites
We’re also running a Call for Sites consultation. As part of this, you can propose land you think may be suitable for different types of development, such as housing, traveller sites, employment sites, renewable energy or retail.
If you would like to put forward a site you think may have potential, see our Call for Sites consultation for more details.
How to respond to the consultation
The Scoping consultation sets out information and challenges around a range of Local Plan themes and then asks questions in relation to them. You can respond to as many questions as you want. You can view the scoping consultation in full via our online consultation platform.
To complete the Scoping consultation, you must provide some basic personal and contact details. By completing the form, you will be registered on our Local Plan database and can select how you would like to be notified about future stages of plan-making.
When we publish a summary of the Scoping consultation, we will redact personal information in accordance with our Strategic Planning Policy Privacy Notice.
You can take part in the Scoping consultation in several ways:
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Online consultation platform
Share your views through our online consultation platform. -
Email submissions
Send written comments directly to the Strategic Planning Policy Team at localplan@york.gov.uk. -
Face-to-face
The council uses a ‘digital-first, not digital-only’ approach, offering online tools alongside in-person opportunities and targeted engagement with under-represented groups. Contact us if you would like to meet with a member of the team at West Offices. -
Organisations and statutory consultees
Parish councils, neighbourhood forums, voluntary groups, businesses and statutory bodies, such as Historic England, Natural England, the Environment Agency, National Highways and neighbouring authorities, will be contacted directly.
The consultation will run from 28 September until 11.59pm on 8 November 2026.
How to contact the Strategic Planning Policy Team
If you have questions, need support to take part, or want to arrange a face-to-face appointment with a member of the team at West Offices, you can contact:
Strategic Planning Policy TeamCity of York Council
Email: localplan@york.gov.uk
Telephone: 01904 552255
West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA
What happens next
After the Scoping stage, there are several formal steps set out in the government’s guidance on the 30-month local plan process for creating the new Local Plan. We set this out in our Local Plan timetable. Each stage includes an opportunity for you to get involved, and we’ll publish updates so you can see how your feedback is shaping the Plan.
We will publish a summary of what you told us at the Scoping stage
All comments from the Scoping consultation will be reviewed. A public summary will then be published explaining the key themes and how your feedback will influence the next stage.
We will prepare the draft direction of the Plan
Using your feedback, national policy and new evidence, we’ll develop:
- a draft vision for York
- proposed outcomes
- a proposed spatial strategy
- a summary of the evidence we will gather and how it informs the process
You will be able to comment on the emerging direction of the Plan. This consultation must run for at least 6 weeks.
We will have a public consultation on the full draft Local Plan
Once the full draft Plan is ready, including maps and evidence, it will be published for an 8-week consultation. You can comment on any part of the Plan.
We will submit the Plan for an independent examination
After consultation, the Plan will be submitted to a Planning Inspector. The Inspector will examine the Plan, review public comments and may recommend changes. If changes are required, these will be consulted on again.
Adoption of the Local Plan
Once the Inspector confirms the Plan is sound, the council can adopt it. The adopted Local Plan will then become the legal planning framework for York.